The Proposal
by OrionM42
Summary: Somewhat spoiler-y for 4.16 "Of Mites and Men", but based purely on speculation from the promo photos for the, currently, un-aired episode. JoxZane and a little bit of HenryxGrace. Pure fluff. Hope you enjoy.


**Fluff, fluff, mindless, candy coated fluff. Sort-of spoilery for 4.16 "Of Mites and Men", but since it hasn't aired yet, I'm mostly basing this off of promo pictures for the episode. If this actually happens, I'll quit my job as a rocket scientist and move to Vancouver to become a writer, lol.**

**The Proposal**

Jo had finally managed to get home and shower after the day's absolutely insane disaster…_invincible bugs? Really?_... when her phone beeped at her.

"What now?" she muttered, as she picked up the phone from her dresser.

_Need you at Café Diem – Henry_

She sighed. It was just one of those days. She dressed in her work attire, though her eyes lingered longingly over the soft cotton pajamas she had laid out on the bed, and pulling her hair into a ponytail, she headed out the door.

When she stepped into the Café, however, Henry was sitting at a table with Grace, laughing and seemingly unconcerned with any security threat that might have brought her there. She walked curiously up to their table.

"Hey Grace, Henry, sorry to interrupt," she looked inquisitively at Henry, "you paged me?"

Henry smiled warmly, "Ah, yes! If you could just find a seat, I wanted to share something with you." He looked around at the crowded café, "With all of you, actually."

_Okay…_Jo nodded and took an empty seat at the counter, perplexed but relieved that there didn't seem to be any impending doom to deal with.

Grace was now looking at Henry curiously, and Jo watched as he pulled a small box out from behind him and lay it gently in his wife's lap. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Grace pull a necklace out of the box. Hanging from the delicate chain was a ring. It was simple, and lovely, much like its new owner. Grace's eyes lit up, smiling widely at Henry, but Jo could not hear what she said to him. Suddenly, Henry was standing and turning toward the center of the café.

"Excuse me, everyone, there's something I'd like to say to my wife, and I'd like you all to bear witness."

He looked at Grace, who was now blushing and smiling and looked for all the world like a young girl getting her first serenade. The room was hushed, and expectant, with a sort of electricity in the air that left everyone with goose bumps.

"Grace," Henry continued, "I know that I may not always remember the date of our first kiss, or what you wore on our first date, or what your favorite flower is. And I know that I may not be the same man you fell in love with those years ago." Grace's eyes went wide, but Henry pressed on, glancing at Jo quickly before looking back at his wife. " But I also know that since I met you, you've turned my whole world upside down. Every day, I learn something new about you, something that makes me admire and respect and love you more than I did the day before. And I want to keep learning, and keeping falling in love, for as long as you'll have me."

Grace wiped a tear away as Henry dropped to a knee, and Jo felt her heart clench in her chest.

"Grace Monroe Deacon. Will you marry me, again?"

Grace nodded enthusiastically before producing a strangled "Yes!" as everyone in the café clapped and cheered for the two of them. Most everyone in the room thought it was sweet and romantic, a renewal of an old love that was still going strong.

But Jo knew better. This was a confession of love, first love, and a promise to continue that love. This was a real proposal. _And Grace, _she thought as her own eyes threatened to well up with tears, _Grace accepts him just as he is, lost memories and all. They're willing to start a new life together._ Jo felt numb with raw emotion as the realization hit her. _Maybe I can accept him, too. _All of the fear, and pain, and doubt she'd been desperately clinging to had just been yanked away from her. And instead of desperately trying to pull it all back, she felt nothing but relief. She felt it so strongly that her legs wobbled as she walked in a haze up to Henry and Grace.

She met Grace first, and felt the woman pull her into a brief hug. She heard her voice break as she said "Congratulations," and Grace pulled back to look at her.

"Thank you, Jo. " Jo smiled brightly, before Henry turned to her and pulled her into a tight embrace that reminded her of her father. "I'm so happy for you!" she said, and she was glad, despite the tightness in her throat, that it sounded as sincere as she meant it.

Henry released her and smiled widely at her. "I'm happy for you, too," he said, and laughed as her face fell in confusion. His eyes moved to something distant over her shoulder and he leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I think someone's waiting for you outside." He hugged her quickly one more time before moving on to the next well-wisher as Jo turned around and saw Zane smiling at her through the window.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she walked out the door and into the night air to stand next to him.

"Looks like I missed something good," he said casually.

Jo smiled, "Yes. Henry proposed. It was very sweet."

Zane's smile grew wider. "Ahh…let me guess… something about not remembering certain things and not being the same man she fell in love with…" Jo's eyes widened. "But," he continued, "that he loves her more every day and wants to keep learning about her for the rest of his life." He looked at Jo and the look on her face made him chuckle warmly.

"Did… Were you in there?" she asked, pointing her finger at him accusingly.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, handing it to her silently.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, wondering what he was up to, before unfolding the letter. The first thing she noticed was that it was in his handwriting. She'd recognize it anywhere. And then her heart sped up as she read the words, _Henry's words_, written in Zane's hand.

She stood transfixed, staring, as she tried to understand. Then Zane's voice pulled her out of her trance.

"Henry came to me for help," he said quietly. "He wanted to surprise Grace with a proposal, but he wanted to make sure it was different, you know, for her. He also thought maybe I might have some ideas on what to say, given our…similar situations." Jo looked up at him, into his blue-grey eyes, trying desperately to read his thoughts. He smiled at her and continued, "So I wrote out this letter. Actually, " he added, before pulling out another letter from his other pocket, "I wrote this letter first, before tweaking it a bit for Henry."

He gave it to her, moving more slowly this time, and shoved his hands in his pockets as she read.

_Josephina. I know that I may not remember the date of our first kiss, or what you wore on our first date, or what your favorite flower is. And I know that I may not be the same man you fell in love with those years ago. But I also know that since I met you, you've turned my whole world upside down. Every day, I learn something new about you, something that makes me admire and respect and love you more than I did the day before. And I want to keep learning, and keeping falling in love, for as long as you'll have me._

Her hands were trembling by the time she reached the end of the letter. She folded it up as neatly as she could and turned to face him. His eyes were searching, and maybe _scared?_, but they were desperate for an answer. So she kissed him, sweet and long, and as they broke apart she uttered a single word.

"Yes."

**So this Zane is obviously a bit further along, commitment-wise, than the show seems to have him. But, again, I base these off of my own experience, too. And in my case, it only took a little over a month to get that l-word, so I figure 6-ish months is long enough for Zane. At the very least, he's falling for her, or he wouldn't be trying so hard.**

**Also, I'm sure this whole thing will be completely negated in about an hour and 10 minutes (as I type this) but it's been in my head all day. I hope it's still enjoyable anyway.**


End file.
